King Elk Forest lift ev'ry voice and sing

It hadn't been a long journey, by any means, having only lasted a day or so, but the events that'd taken place within that time frame had made Queenie's homecoming much different than she would have hoped. There were a few things on her mind, but the one that stuck out the most was talking to @Delight about what she'd seen. From the way things looked, one mercenary wasn't going to be enough. 

The land just beyond the borders housed a couple of wolves that'd set Queenie on edge. Where there were a few, there were many; if they were going to neighbor such a group, they'd need two, maybe three mercenaries on hand at any given time. She would be willing to train them, of course, depending on how soon they could start.

sorry i missed this before!! D:

every day burke's death feels a little less heavy to the androgyne. there are plans in motion and pieces moving and things to take care of so he turns his attention to the daily rituals of morwinyon and away from -- well, no, who are we kidding, he's anxious as can be, he's just getting better at managing it.

it's easy to pick queenie from the trees, given the stark nature of her coat, and he finds himself quickening his pace to catch up to her. the more he gets to know his wolves the more he likes each of them individually -- but there's something about the mouthy girl that makes him feel a kinship to her. maybe it's just nice to have someone he doesn't feel like he's gotta be leader-y around (even though he probably should be). "hey," delight chuffs as he approaches, his tail giving a brief wag, "penny for your thoughts?"

Delight's chuff had an immediate pull on Queenie's focus, her gaze meeting his and her tail mimicking the wag. He had a certain charm to him that she liked, mostly because having another asshole to hang around was more comforting than the sweet, "tell-me-your-problems" type that seemed to fester in Tindómë. Thought I'd have to come looking for you, she teased, You been hiding from me? 

Things got serious then, her smile slowly faded and her gaze dropped. Ears atop her head and eyes wide open, Queenie was in her merc mode. Am I the only mercenary around here? she asked. As far as border maintanance, she was surviving. But there was more of a workload than could be handled by one person, especially given the circumstances. I think we could use a few more. Well, I know we could.

her comment earns a good natured eye roll and a defensive "i've been in mourning," although it's probably true the old man's passing doesn't weigh as heavily on most of his pack as it does on him and the rochesters. not for the first time, he thinks, what a shame. but what can be done about it?

delight clicks his teeth at her question, shaking his head a little. "nathaniel," he answers, surprised they haven't run into each other -- then again, the older rochester had been glued to burke's side before his death and now seems tied to mona's. "we do?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at her assertion. sure, it'd be nice, but they hardly have enemies or even rivals knocking down their door. "preparing for a war i don't know about?" delight teases, honestly not taking it very seriously given the circumstances.

Nathaniel. They'd met, without a doubt. Queenie nodded her head with a tight-lipped smile that gradually loosened with Delight's question. She moved closer to him with another wag of her tail and nudge to his scruff before circling back and silently inviting him on a walk. Yeah, of course, she laughed, me and what army? 

Tindómë had a poor defense; it made Queenie uncomfortable to think about it. Once she was able to get her feet planted and start her own family, she knew that protecting this place would be one of their priorities. It wasn't because she actually liked Tindómë, but because she happened to like a few of the people inside. Delight, Nathaniel, Anatha, they all deserved to have someone watching their backs.

I just, she began, unsure of how to continue, I'll train them. Me and Nat, we can do it. I just think it's smart for everyone to know the basics of combat.

delight still doesn't really get the fuss. tucked away as they are they barely encounter wanderers -- coming across any serious threat seems highly unlikely to him.

but then again, he does have his plans, and maybe there's merit to the merle-marked girl's suggestion. "okay," the morwinyon says, tilting his head thoughtfully. "if you wanna train up some more mercs, you can -- though i'm not sure there's any willing students around right now." it wouldn't hurt for them all to learn a little self defense (probably) but they have sort of an soft intellectual thing going on. "if anyone mentions wanting to pursue defense or fighting, i'll send them to you," he adds, hoping that'll be enough to placate her.

With a firm nod of her head, Queenie told Delight, I don't care if they're willing. In fact, I'd prefer if they weren't; I like a challenge. It was comforting to know that she had an actual place in the pack now, whether reflected by her rank or not. She was going to be responsible for training the protecters of her pack and Delight would make sure of it. He was going to be thinking about her.

The air was frigid and blew with a certain ferocity that Queenie couldn't help but acknowledge. Winter wouldn't last much longer and it seemed like it knew. There isn't a lot that happens around here, you know? There were benefits to being so secluded, but Queenie still hadn't quite warmed up to it.

her .. enthusiasm is commendable, probably, though it sends a slight shiver of fear through him -- he's unwilling, frankly. he doesn't like.. physical alteractions. not his thing.

good thing he's morwinyon and she can't force him to fight. ha! anyway, it's probably for the best so long as he's exempt. delight hms softly as she speaks again, echoing thoughts he's had about a hundred times already. "yeah," the androgyne agrees, voice thoughtful. "jomyo's scouting to see if there's anyone else near us," he brings up a touch hesitantly -- it's not the first time he's discussed his idea with someone besides the former morwinyon, but the uncertainty of it still makes him anxious. but he does trust queenie enough, so he continues, "mato and i talked about moving once. i didn't want to because i didn't think burke would make it, but now..." his shoulders lift and fall in an awkward hug, leaving the "now i'm thinking about it again" unsaid.

Scouting might have been Queenie's second choice for a trade, had the security of an actual pack not been as overwhelming as it had. The prospect of leaving the territory when she'd only just found it wasn't the most attractive, but now that she'd gotten use to the region, leaving was substantially less difficult. After all, no matter how long she disappeared for, there was always something to come back to. When Jomyo got back, she would try talking to her to see if they could figure out some sort of agreement — Queenie could teach her how to fight, while Jomyo could teach her how to scout. 

The topic of Mato's death seemed to be a sensitive one, so Queenie wanted to be careful with how she phrased her response. With a deep breath, she looked at Delight with an uncharacteristic tenderness and asked, Is it hard? Being without him, I mean. There was no one in her life whose loss she thought that she would suffer from, but that was intentional; there was no good in getting attached.

he expects a follow up on his implied thought vis-a-vis moving, but instead she asks about burke. feeling very transparent, delight shuffles his weight between his paws. "no," he answers honestly after a moment, "it was -- you know the cliché -- it was his time. but he was with us from the start and he meant a lot to mato. i liked him a lot." delight shrugs again, a little uncomfortable, a little raw. he's not used to... he worked pretty hard to avoid anyone looking at him tenderly, and though he can tolerate it in short bursts (with the rare exception of gracious, for whom 'tender' is a modus operandi), queenie being gentle is a little too much to handle. he shakes his head and laughs, a short, hollow sound. "but anyway, you know, life goes on and all of that -- not exactly the first death i've been through." does queenie even know about his -- ah, well, whatever, it doesn't matter.

Luckily, the vulnerability of the moment was equally overwhelming for both of them. That whole mushy-gushy thing wasn't really Queenie's forte and at no point had she thought it was Delight's either. That being said, his awkward laugh was paired with one from Queenie who was eager to move on from the topic. Anyway, she sighed, the move? When was that supposed to happen?

relieved she's changing the subject, delight perks back up a little bit. "you mean the first time we talked about it? mato wanted to drop everything and go, but i talked him out of it." that was back at the beginning of winter, before brienne's return to them. before mato retreated quietly into himself, beyond where delight could reach him. he sighs, a little melancholy. "but my idea was -- i knew burke wouldn't have been able to survive moving in deep winter, so springtime. like now, i guess, especially since he's gone." the air is still frigid but he can feel spring's arrival coming in his bones, and like gracious said, there's no better time for them to make their move. once jomyo gets back anyway.

Spring was right around the corner, but its start didn't have an exact date. Queenie wished that Delight would have come up with a more precise answer, but she understood that he was probably about as sure as the next guy. There was no real way to predict the weather, unless you were one of those super nature-y people who Queenie secretly thought were all kooks.

The air between them was way too heavy for a Queenie and Del session, so in an effort to lift the mood, Queenie gave the Morwinyon a playful nudge to his shoulder and bounded away a few steps to prevent him from being able to immediately retaliate. You're gonna need me as your bodyguard, y'know? I'm gonna watch everything you do on our trip. Her head was held high with a wry smile as she teased her friend, though the statement would stand true.

the lingering heaviness to their conversation is bounces by queenie's playful nudge, a move he greatly appreciates (most of his friends have been as prone to deep introspection and processing as he -- and while he loves to ruminate he also loves not dwelling on how he feels.) briefly delight wishes sunflower were still around -- her and queenie would have gotten on swimmingly -- but the thought passes quickly. delight makes no physical effort to return her nudge, offering only a lazy swat of the paw and a snort. "bodyguard?" he repeats, incredulous and secretly pleased at the prospect. "gonna protect me from all the dangerous nothing we'll probably encounter?" well, okay, that's a bold claim considering how far they're going, but delight's never been far into the teekons and as far as he knows it's as peaceful and easy going as it is out here in the tuktus. this time he does return her playful gesture, bumping her shoulder to punctuate the joke.

While Delight was probably right, Queenie still had to protest his rebuttal. How d'you know? she asked with a casual roll of her eyes. His nudge sent her stumbling, but the young merc was quick to recover. There's all kinds of things out there. Not wanting to offend Delight, Queenie didn't remind him of how scrawny and physically-deficient he was, but it was the next argument waiting to roll off of her tongue.

Besides, she added, you're the leader. You have to have a bodyguard. Delight wasn't very good at this whole Morwinyon thing or whatever, but Queenie thought that he was doing an alright job. After all, only, like, one person had died, and he'd been old, anyway.

i have tears in my eyes i love queenie.. wanna wrap up?

delight gives a dry laugh. he can cop to the unspoken argument as well, and in both cases she's not wrong -- he's tiny and puny and pretty content being that way, thank you. it's a little flattering, actually, that she thinks he's important enough to warrant protection. like, yeah, he's morwinyon, but he still has a hard time seeing himself as anything other than someone doing their best to keep the seams of the pack neatly threaded -- tindómë could probably go on without him.

out loud he says "fine," in exaggerated resgination. his gaze flicks to the ground, away from her, and more sincerely he adds "thanks, queenie." it's all a bit overwrought but he can recognize and appreciate that for whatever reason his wolves care about him and tindómë and that's worth cherishing.

Okie dokie :D

The bump to Delight's shoulder was done without thought, but Queenie had meant it with a hidden degree of compassion. We're friends, you lug, she thought, instead settling to say, Don't worry about it. This was the first bond that she had formed since coming into the wilds, and as it seemed to be the most viable, Queenie planned to hold on for as long as she could. 

I'm gonna finish my rounds, she told Delight, and I expect you to come along.